Container opening devices



g- 17, 1965 M. F. ASHLEY 3,200,985

CONTAINER OPENING DEVICES Filed July 51, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 lnvenfor fZsrwin FAs/z/eg By his Attorney g- 17, 1965 M. F. ASHLEY 3,200,985

CONTAINER OPENING DEVICES Filed July 31, 1963 4 Shets-Sheet 2 Aug. 17, 1965 M. F. ASHLEY CONTAINER OPENING DEVICES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 51, 1963 ((1.4 6 W F a (x 1 4 4M 6 Q a .6 M/ J :6 7 6 4 4 f r F QM.

g- 1965 M. F. ASHLEY 3,200,985

CONTAINER OPENING DEVICES Filed July 31, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 to open it.

United States Patent 3,209,985 CONTAlNER OPENING DEVICES Merwin F. Ashley, Arlington, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Boston, Mass, :1 corporation of New Jersey Filed July 31, 1963, Ser. No. 298,872

6 Claims. (U. 22tl54) This application is a continuation in part of my prior application Serial No. 101,410, filed April 7, 1961, on Container Opening Devices, now abandoned. This invention pertains to opening devices for dispensing containers and methods of making them. It is directed more particularly to tear-open closures or covers for attachment to container bodies to provide dispensers for the contents of the containers.

One type of tear-open closure in use today is a conventional double-seamed can end having a tear strip or prescored tear pattern in its plane or end surface which is opened by a separate tab or starting lever welded or otherwise secured to the portion which is to be torn. Another type of tear-open device is employed on covers having flanges which fit like caps over the ends of tubular container bodies and are provided with tear strips formed in the flanged portions of the cover. The tearing of the strips or removal of the tear pattern provides dispensing means for the contents of the cans.

In the latter type of cover the tear strip has an integral starting tab which overlaps the opposite end of the strip generally at the area where the container body is seamed. The tab projects slightly from the surface (usually cylindrical) of the closure and usually requires a winding key Separate keys have to be supplied with the container and are usually secured in some manner to the container to be broken loose before being applied to the starting tab.

The primary disadvantages of the prior art devices will be obvious. In the first type, soldering or welding or otherwise securing a tab or lever to a tear strip is an exacting process requiring precise registration to obtain concentration of stress which substantially increases the cost of the finished container. The second or peripheral type tear strip closure not only requires a separate winding key but also consumes a substantially greater amount of material than most other closures in use today.

Another type of closure has a tear pattern comprising an annular strip scored part way through its end surface. The starting end of the strip is a pull tab formed as a continuation of the strip by completely incising the closure in a loop configuration. To seal the closure a patch is secured by soldering adhesive means to the underside of the cover where the pull tab is located. Closures of this type have been used commercially but are inadequate for pressurized contents, particularly liquids, which cause premature rupture of the seal or patch and consequent leakage.

It is an object of this invention to provide a tear-open dispensing container closure which requires neither a winding key nor a separately attached starting lever.

It is another object of this invention to provide a tearopen dispensing container closure in which the entire opening means is an integral part of the closure itself. Still another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive tear-open dispensing container closure which may be opened entirely by hand with a minimum of effort and skill required.

Another object of this invention is to produce a tearopen dispensing container which will withstand internal pressure without leaking.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a by molecular integration.

In accordance with these objects and as a feature of this invention, there is provided a dispensing container closure or cover made for attachment to tubular con tainer bodies by conventional methods. The closure comprises a molecularly unitary sheet made from two sheets of rigid, non-permeable material, portions of which are bonded by methods including molecular integrating and others hereinafter to be disclosed to make them essentially a single leakproof sheet. Limited discrete areas, which may be in the form of islands or areas at the perimeter of the closure, are left unbonded. A starting tab is formed by score lines or the like in the original upper or outer sheet directly over the unbonded interface. The inner surface is substantially smooth, imperforate and uninterrupted. The original sheets may both be metal, plastic or fibrous material or any combination of metal, plastic or fiber. The bonding may be accomplished in a number of ways, such as pressure Welding to form molecular integration of two original metallic sheets or in accordance with methods hereinafter explained in detail. The sole requirement, however, is that the bond be at least as strong as the material of the closure and preferably stronger.

Score lines defining either a tear strip, pour-out opening or other tear pattern are incised in the integrated area of the outer layer as continuations of the score lines defining the tab. When the tab is pulled upwardly, it rises freely from the lower layer until it meets the resistance offered by the bond at the boundary between the integrated and non-integrated areas. Thereupon the original inner layer ruptures between the score lines adjacent the boundary and both layers will tear together along the score lines as a single piece to provide a dispensing opening.

In the non-integrated area of the original outer layer, the score lines extend to at least the depth of the interface of the two layers so that the starting tab may be readily lifted from the lower layer. In the inegrated portion the score lines may be of equal or greater depth than those in the unbonded portion. To facilitate the initial rupture of the lower layer when the tab is pulled, at least one of the score line portions may be made to .cross the boundary between the bonded and unbonded creased in depth to extend farther into the inner layer.

Rupture may be aided by the inner layer being weakened in the area of the boundary by score lines or other in dentations extending upwardly from its own lower surface toward the interface.

The starting tab may be made to project slightly from the adjacent surface portions of the closure to facilitate it being gripped. This may be readily accomplished by bumping up or raising the tab by pressure applied to the inner layer during or after the time the tab is formed or by depressing portions of the upper layer around the tab. The raising or depressing in the area adjacent the tab also aids in strengthening the cover in the unbonded area.

It is also within the scope of this invention that the starting tab particularly when the closure is metal, while formed from the upper layer of the container closure, may also be left somewhat thicker than the adjacent portions of the upper layer by processes such as selective matrix rolling during the time the two layers are bonded This not only insures against rupture of the tab but also provides a tab which is more readily gripped by the fingers.

The invention also contemplates that the tensile strength of the upper layer may be made to exceed that of the lower which will assure rupture of the lower layer without the tab breaking off. This is readily accomplished by appropriate selection of materials from which the cover is made.

It will be obvious from the foregoing and from the detailed description of the invention to follow that the lower layer in a modified form of the invention need not be as large in area as the upper layer and, furthermore, may be molecularly integrated or otherwise bonded to the upper layer after scoring of the upper layer has taken place and the tab formed.

The above and other features of the invention including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular closures embodying the invention and the methods of making them are shown by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in varied and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a container closure embodying a preferred form of the invention and made in ac cordance with the methods hereinafter explained in detail;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on slightly enlarged scale taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

' FIG. 3 is a plan view similar to FIG. 1 showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view on reduced scale of the closure of FIG. 1 applied to a container body;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the closure of FIG. 4 after the starting tab has been pulled upwardly and the lower layer ruptured;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view on enlarged scale taken on line VII-VII of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view also on enlarged scale taken through the score line between the points VIIIVIII on FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view, partially in section, of the closure of FIG. 1 in the process of being opened;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the closure of FIG. 4 in the process of being opened;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a container closure having a pour spout embodying the invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the closure of FIG. 11 after it has been opened;

FIG. 13 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken on the line XIV-XIV of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the closure of FIG. 1 with a depressed area surrounding the tab; and

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken on the line XVI XVI of FIG. 15.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 9, show one form of the invention embodied in a dispensing container closure or cover 2 which may be attached to a body 3 to form the complete container shown in FIG. 5. This type of container is ideally suited for products such as frozen citrus concentrates which normally are maintained in a semi-frozen state. Virtually complete removal of the closure is required to dispense the contents. The closure is made of two aluminum sheets 4- and 6. The outer or upper 'sheet 4 (FIG. 2) is in the order of magnitude of two to four times the thickness of the lower sheet 2 and may be of greater tensile strength. In this example the upper sheet 4 is approximately .086" thick and the lower or inner sheet 6 is .003" or less. The major area 8 of the sheets 4 and 6 are molecularly integrated by heat and pressure welding alone an interface 10 resulting in a single or unitary sheet of uniform cross sectional strength since pressure welding by present day methods produces a molecularly integrated bond equal to or stronger than the material itself. A discrete inner central area, in the form of an island 12, designated by a dotted boundary line 13, is left intentionally unbonded or non-integrated. v

Molecular integration or welding requires the contacting interfaces of the layers to be cleaned to be freed of oxides or other contaminants. Thereafter, heat plus pressure or pressure alone causes metal flow across the interface resulting in molecular integration as distinguished from adhesion as in soldering. This selective integrating process may be accomplished by matrix rolling or by the use of appropriately positioned stop-off material located between the sheets prior to the application of pressure.

It is to be understood that while the preferred form of the invention employs two sheets of aluminum, the closures may also be made of other soft ductile metals, plastic, fibrous material or combinations thereof, follow the same method.

An outer score line portion 14 is formed by die scoring or the like around the cover near the periphery and continues inwardly, crossing the boundary 1? between the bonded and unbonded areas at a point 16. In the discrete unbonded or non-integrated portion 12 of the upper 7 layer 4, the score line forms a loop ll? defining a starting tab 18, continues across the boundary at 20, and extends outwardly as a second or inner score line portion 22 toward and then around the cover parallel to the score'line portion 14. The score line portionslll and 22 thus deline a tear trip 23 integral with the tab 18. The score lines extend to a depth of approximately .007 or roughly /3 of the total thickness of the combined layers. There fore, at the unbonded island 12 the scoring extends completely through the original upper or outer layer 4 to at least the depth of the interface It leaving the tab 18 free from the lower or inner layer 6. The container closure 2 may be secured by a conventional double seam 26 (FIG. 2) to the end of a container body 3 forming therewith a completed can as shown in FIG. 5.

By my method the cover may also be made by first forming and scoring the upper layer .4 and then integrat- 1 ing or otherwise bonding the lower layer 6 to it. While the lower layer 6 is herein shown as having the same total area as the upper layer, i.e. coextensive in area, it may be smaller but must in any event, be larger in area than the non-integrated island 12. Where, however, the lower layer is coextensive in area with the upper layer, the bond must be at least as strong as the material or" the layers in order not to leak prematurely and in order that the lower layer will rupture in the manner hereinafter to be described. Where the layers are of aluminum, molecular integration, i.e. pressure welding, is preferred. While FIG. 2 shows the closure, except for the double seam 26, as being flat it may be domed upwardly slightly. The under or lower surface of the sheet 6, whether flat or slightly concave, is substantially planar, imperforate and uninterrupted.

In use, the free tab 18 is grasped and raised from the surface of the container top, as is seen in FIG. 9, thereby exposing the underlying unbonded portion of the layer 6. Tension applied to the tab 18 will cause the lower layer 6 to rupture along the portion 28 of the boundary 13 which extends between the points 16 and 20, the tear commencing at approximately the point 16 and continuing toward the perimeter of the can end along the score line 14 and simultaneously toward the point 20 along the boundary portion 28. It will be appreciated that the joint between the upper and lower layers must be as strong or stronger than the metal formingthe cover, thus assuring that the layer will not separate. Thereafter, continued tension applied to the tab 18 will cause both layers to tear together along the score line portions 14 and 22 until the tear reaches the point 29 on the inner score line portion 22. This prevents the cover from being removed too abruptly. A final pull then completely removes the tear strip 23 to provide a dispensing area equal to substantially all of the can top.

If the technique of soldering or adhesively securing patches beneath a tab of a metallic closure, as performed in the prior art, were employed in this invention there would be no positive assurance of rupture of the lower layer since soldering of metal, particularly aluminum, does not produce a bond of adequate strength. Closures of plastic may be bonded by fusing to produce bonds at least as strong as the plastic layers themselves. FIG. 3 shows a modified embodiment of the invention. The non-integrated area of the interface between the layers is disposed as a continuous strip 30 defined by dotted lines 32, 34 at one side of the cover, the layers being integrated over the remaining area. The starting tab 36 is, as in the FIG. 1 embodiment, a continuation of a tear strip 37 formed by score lines 38, 43. This form of the invention operates in the same manner as the MG. 1 embodiment but has the advantage that the central portion 31 of the closure is free to receive any desired printing, advertising matter, directions or the like. This embodiment of the idea also offers advantages in the manufacture of the covers, permitting the use of welding rolls which are relieved to produce the unbonded or non-integrated strip 30 and thus eliminate the need for stopofi material at the interface between the layers. The same results would be obtained if the non-integrated area were an island near the perimeter rather than a continuous strip intersecting the perimeter.

Another embodiment of the invention is. shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 10. As in FIG. 1, the non-integrated portion 42 is defined by a boundary line 41 as a centrally locatedisland in which the starting tab 4 is located. The outer score line 46 is similar to the score line portion 14 and extends completely around the closure near the periphery. A continuation of the score line 46 extends inwardly to form the starting tab and terminates in the bonded or integrated portion 50 in close proximity to the central unbonded or non-integrated area 4-2;. This embodiment of the invention is initially opened in the same manner as that disclosed in FIG. 1 except that the entire cover within the score line 46 is removed as one piece after the tab 44 has been lifted and twisted as shown in FIGS. 6 and 10.

In all of the illustrated embodiments, it will be noted that the score lines defining the tear strips form extremely acute angles with the boundaries between the bonded and unbonded areas of the layers. This concentrates stress at the points of rupture to facilitate initial tearing of the lower layer along the score lines defining the tear strip.

Another means for assisting rupture of the lower layer 6 will be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. The outer score line 46 in FIG. 3 or its equivalent in the other embodiments, is cut more deeply where the score line 46 crosses the boundary 41 at point 5-4. While the exact location of the boundary line 41 may not be known in each particular cover, due to inherent inaccuracies in manufacturing methods, increasing the depth of the score line 46 over a substantial part of its length, as at 56 in FIGS. 7 and 8, assures that at least a portion of the increased depth will coincide with the boundary line. This feature of the invention is, of course, applicable to each of the several embodiments.

To facilitate rupture of the lower layer 6 in any of the embodiments heretofore or hereinafter to be described, the lower layer may be weakened in the appropriate area at or adjacent to the boundary between the integrated and non-integrated portions of the combined layers. One weakening expedient is illustrated in the FIG. 4 embodiment as a plurality of score lines 52 formed in the undersurface of the lower layer 6 over a small area lying within the score lines on both sides of the boundary 41. Another form of weakening may be one or more zig-zag score lines or indentations in the undersurface of the lower layer 6 lying transversely of the boundary line.

The invention as applied to a pouring or dispensing spout is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. A tab is formed in a non-integrated area 72 which, as in other embodiments, is defined by a dotted line 73. The tab is continuous with a substantially diamond shape tear-out portion 74- defined by a score line 76 in the non-integrated portion of the cover. When the tab 70 is lifted and pulled, the lower layer ruptures and the portion 74 tears out in a manner similar to the other embodiments and a pouring or dispensing spout 73 is formed in the can which is used to pour liquid or granular substances.

It is within the scope and intent of this invention that the non-integrated area and starting tab need not lie within the top surface of the container closure nor is the invention restricted to a container closure which is secured by conventional double-seaming (26 of FIG. 2). It may be incorporated in a press on a cap closure of the type shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, wherein the closure 80 is in the form of an inverted shallow cup, the annular flange 32 of which fits over and is secured to the container body 3 by cementing or other conventional adhesive means 83 (FIG. 14). The cap closure, as in the other embodiments is formed of two metallic layers having an integated non-integrated area 84 located in the annular flange portion 82 of the cover. A tab 86 is formed in the non-integrated portion 84 as a continuation of a scored tear strip 88 extending entirely around the flange. The cement 83 or other adhesive securing the cap to the body should preferably not extend above the tear strip 8% in order that when the tear strip is removed the flat upper portion of the cover will be freed from the body.

In any of the several embodiments of the invention initial lifting of the tab from the lower layer may be facilitated by elevating the tab from the adjacent portions of the cover. This may be done in manufacturing the closure by pressing or bumping up the undersurface of the lower layer when the score lines are formed in the upper surface by the use of a mating die. An equivalent of elevating the tab by the above described bumping up process is shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. A closure similar to that shown in FIG. 1 has an arcuate depressed area 90 formed in the non-integrated portion 12 around the tab 13. As shown in FIG. 16, the tab is not appreciably elevated from the surface of the cover but is surrounded by the depressed area 99. Formation of the depressed area 9t which is easily accomplished by appropriately designed dies also aids in strengthening the unbonded portion 12 of the cover. The same die which scores the cover may be designed to depress the area 90.

Thus, in whatever form the invention may take, there will always be a starting tab formed from the upper or outer layer in the non-integrated portion of the container cover. Regardless of its configuration or the configuration of the tear pattern scored into the cover, pulling the tab will cause rupture of the lower layer and continued pulling will tear out the desired portions of both layers as a single continuing piece, thus obviating the necessity for a welded or soldered starting tab or lever.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United r States is:

1. A tear-open dispensing closure for a container comprising a molecularly unitary sheet having a substantially planar inner surface which is imperforate and uninterrupted over the entire area exposed to the container contents and a single, fully exposed, outer surface at least equal in area to said inner surface, a discrete area of said sheet comprising inner and outer layers freely separable at their interface, the remaining area of said closure being molecularly unitary and inseparable, score lines incised in the outer surface of the sheet defining a molecularly unitary area to be torn from the closure for dispensing the contents of the container, portions of said score lines extending into said discrete area and there incised at least to the depth of said interface forming from the outer layer a freely liftable pull tab as an uninterrupted part of said outer surface and as an integral continua tion of the removable molecularly unitary area of the closure defined by the score lines whereby when the tab is pulled the molecularly unitary sheet material within the score lines comprising both layers will be torn from the closure as a single piece to form a dispensing opening.

2. A tear-open dispensing closure for a container comprising a molecularly unitary sheet having a substantially planar inner surface which is imperforate and uninterruptedover the entire area exposed to the container contents and a single, fully exposed, outer surface at least equal in area to said inner surface, a discrete area of said sheet comprising inner and outer layers freely separable at their interface, the remaining area of said closure being molecular'ly unitary and inseparable score lines incised in the outer surface of the sheet defining a pour out opening to be torn from the molecularly unitary area of the closure for dispensing the Contents of the container, portions of said score lines extending into said discrete area and there incised at least to the depth of said interface forming from the outer layer a freely liftable pull tab as an uninterrupted part of said outer surface and as an integral continuation of the pour out opening in the molecularly unitary portion defined by the score lines whereby when the tab is pulled the unitary sheet material within the score lines comprising both layers will be torn from the closure as a single joined piece to form the dispensing pour out opening.

3. A tear-open dispensing closure for a container comprising a molecularly unitary sheet having a substantially planar inner surface which is imperforate and uninterrupted over the entire area exposed to the container contents and a single, fully exposed, outer surface at least equal in area to said inner surface, a discrete area of said sheet comprising inner and outer layers freely separable at their interface, the remaining area of said closure being molecularly unitary and inseparable, score lines incised in the outer surface of the sheet defining a molecularly unitary area to be torn from the closure for dispensing the contents of the container comprising an annular tear strip located in close proximity to the periphery of the closure, portions of said score lines extending into said discrete area and there incised at least to the depth of said interface forming from the outer layer a freely liftable pull tab as an uninterrupted part of said outer surface and as an integral continuation of the molecularly unitary area whereby sheet material within the score lines comprising both la ers will be torn from the closure as a one piece strip to form a dispensing opening comprising substantially all of the closure.

4. A tear-open dispensing closure for a container comprising a molecularly unitary sheet, a discrete area of said sheet comprising inner and outer layers freely separable over their interface, said sheet having a single, fully exposed, outer surface, score lines incised in said outer surface of the sheet and defining an area to be torn from the closure for dispensing the contents of the container, portions of said score lines extending into said discrete area and there incised at least to the depth of said interface forrning from'said outer layer a freely liftable pull when the tab is pulled the molecularly unitary tab as an uninterrupted part of said outer surface and as an integral continuation of the molecularly unitary area of the closure defined by the score lines, said lower layer being weakened between the score lines adjacent the boundary between the said discrete area and the remainder of the closure whereby when the tab is pulled the inner layer of tire sheet will rupture between the score lines at the weakened boundary and the molecularly unitary sheet comprising both layers will tear along the score lines as a single piece to form a dispensing opening.

5. A tear-open dispensing closure for a container comprising a molecularly unitary sheet, a discrete area of said sheet comprising inner and outer layers freely separable over their interface, said sheet having a single, fully ex posed, outer surface, a score line incised in said outer surface of the sheet and defining a pour out opening to be torn from an area of inseparable layers of the unitary sheet for dispensing the contents of the container, said score line extending into said discrete area and there incised at least to the depth of said interface forming from said outer layer a freely liftable pull tab as an uninterrupted part of said outer surface and as an integral continuation of the area of inseparable layers defined by the score line whereby when the tab is pulled the inner layer of the sheet will rupture adjacent the boundary of said discrete area and the molecularly unitary sheet will tear along the score lines as a single piece to form the pour out opening.

d. A tear-open dispensing closure for a container comprising a rnolecularly unitary sheet, a discrete area of said sheet comprising inner and outer layers freely separable over their interface, said sheet having a single,,fully exposed exterior surface, score lines incised in said exterior surface of the sheet and defining between them in a molecularly unitary area of the closure an annular tear strip located in close proximity to the periphery of the closure, said score lines continuing into said discrete area and there incised at least to the depth of said interface forming from said outer layer a freely liftable pull tab as an uninterrupted part of said exterior surface and as an integral continuation of the molecularly unitary area of the closure whereby when the tab is pulled the inner layer of the sheet will rupture between the score lines adjacent the boundary of said discrete area and the molecularly unitary sheet comprising both layers will tear along said tear strip removing substantially all of the closure as a single piece to dispense the contents of the container.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,643,958 10/27 Rooney 220/54 2,009,539 7/35 Wooten 220-54 2,086,166 7/37 Kronquest 113121 2,112,231 3/38 Speidel 220-54 2,199,528 5/40 Sebell 113-121 2,792,145 5/57 Sowter 220--54 2,830,001 4/58 Barnes et al. 22951 2,870,935 1/59 Houghtelling 2297 7 2,946,478 7/ 60 Clair et al. 22054 3,142,412 7/64 Elakeslee 22054 3,144,955 8/64 Armstrong 22054 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A TEAR-OPEN DISPENSING CLOSURE FOR A CONTAINER COMPRISING A MOLECULARLY UNITARY SHEET HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR INNER SURFACE WHICH IS IMPERFORATE AND UNINTERRUPTED OVER THE ENTIRE AREA EXPOSED TO THE CONTAINER CONTENTS AND A SINGLE, FULLY EXPOSED, OUTER SURFACE AT LEAT EQUAL IN AREA TO SAID INNER SURFACE, A DISCRETE AREA OF SAID SHEET COMPRISING INNER AND OUTER LAYERS FREELY SEPARABLE AT THEIR INTERFACE, THE REMAINING AREA OF SAID CLOSURE BEING MOELCULARLY UNITARY AND INSEPARABLE, SCORE LINES INCISED IN THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE SHEET DEFINING A MOELCLARLY UNITARY AREA TO BE TORN FROMTHE CLOSURE FOR DISPENSING THE CONTENTS OF THE CONTAINER, PORTIONS OF SAID SCORELINES EXTENDING INTO SAID DISCRETE AREA AND THERE INCISED AT LEAST TO THE DEPTH OF SAID INTERFACE FORMING FROM THE OUTER LAYER A FREELY LIFTABLE PULL TAB AS AN UNINTERRUPTED PART OF SAID OUTER SURFACE AND AS AN INTEGRAL CONTINUATION OF THE REMOVABLE MOLECULARLY UNITARY AREA OF THE CLOSURE DEFINED BY THE SCORE LINES WHEREEBY WHEN THE TAB IS PULLED THE MOLECULARLY UNITARY SHEET MATERIAL WITHIN THE SCORE LINES COMPRISING BOTH LAYERS WILL BE TORN FROMTHE CLOSURE AS A SINGLE PIECE TO FORM A DISPENSING OPENING. 